'Are You the One?' Always Features Tons of Drama and Some Viewer Skepticism

Even though Are You the One? is a Paramount Plus dating show with plenty of drama, it puts a unique spin on the process. A group of singles is tasked with finding their perfect matches each season, which is determined by a dating algorithm meant to match the most compatible couples. If everyone doesn't correctly match by the end of the season, then no one wins a chunk of the prize money.

Clearly, there's a lot on the line. But if you find yourself wondering, more often than not, if Are You the One? is scripted, you probably aren't alone. This is a dramatic reality series, after all, and it's common for some reality shows to bend the truth or fabricate drama to move various storylines along.

Say what you will about modern reality TV shows creating drama and splicing together dialogue to paint a specific narrative, but former cast members have stood behind how real Are You the One? is. In 2016, former cast members spoke with International Business Times (IBT) about the show and their experiences on it. And the consensus seems to be that Are You the One? is not scripted.

"I have a lot of viewers asking me, 'The show's fake, right? It's scripted,'" Season 4's Giovanni Rivera told the outlet at the time. "It's nothing scripted. Nobody told me what to say. Nobody told me how to act."

Tori Deal also told IBT that the show is real and certainly "felt real" for her in terms of the strong emotions she experienced during filming. While the cast of any given season may be persuaded by a producer to open up about something or to voice an opinion to another person on the show, it looks like Are You the One? is pretty legitimate.

Going on Are You the One? doesn't seem to be for the faint of heart. Prospective contestants have to go through an intense interview process and they're even subject to psych evaluations. But the upside is that, if you're picked to be on the show, you could very well meet your soulmate and even win some cash along the way.

Although the application for Are You the One? isn't active right now, the casting website does share details about applying when there are casting calls. Judging by the other applications on the same website for other dating shows it's pretty easy to fill out the form and throw your hat into the ring.

The real challenge starts once you're actually thrown to the wolves on the show.

Watch Are You the One? on Paramount Plus.